Needle bearing assembling machine

ABSTRACT

The needles or rollers are dropped by gravity through a socalled cascade into an annular space around a cylindrical centering pin and in front of a sleeve which is reciprocable with the centering pin to shift a collected set of needles into the ultimate bearing disposed in coaxial relationship to the pin and sleeve. The cascade has a narrow, zig-zag passageway extending vertically therethrough that is only slightly wider than the needles, and ledges are defined on opposite sides of this passageway in zig-zag relationship to one another the full length thereof, which by abutment with the needles insure their arrival at the discharge end always parallel to the centering pin. The ledges are all rounded, being defined by needles set in threequarter round recesses defined in zig-zag relationship to one another the full length of the cascade, thus reducing wear on the ledges while also enabling replacement of these few needles from time to time as the exposed portions thereof defining the abutments commence to show wear, so as to restore the cascade to new condition at a very low cost utilizing the same needles as are used in the needle bearings as replacements and insure continued good operation. Removable cover plates on the front and back of the cascade expose the ends of these needles so that removal and replacement of the worn needles presents no problem.

United States Patent [191 Stenger [451 Feb. 5, 1974 NEEDLE BEARINGASSEMBLING MACHINE [75] Inventor: Donald R. Stenger, Rockford, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Hill-Rockford C0,, Rockford, Ill.

[22] Filed: Dec. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 314,513

[52] US. Cl. 29/201 [51] Int. Cl 823p 19/04 [58] Field of Search 29/201,201 D, 148.4 A, 200 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,844,865 7/1958 Cook et a]. 29/201 2,946.117 7/1960 Horrath 29/201Primary Examiner-Thomas H. Eager [57] ABSTRACT The needles or rollersare dropped by gravity through a so-called cascade into an annular spacearound a cylindrical centering pin and in front of a sleeve which isreciprocable with the centering pin to shift a collected set of needlesinto the ultimate bearing disposed in coaxial relationship to the pinand sleeve. The cascade has a narrow, zig-zag passageway extendingvertically therethrough that is only slightly wider than the needles,and ledges are defined on opposite sides of this passageway in zig-zagrelationship to one another the full length thereof, which by abutmentwith the needles insure their arrival at the discharge end alwaysparallel to the centering pin. The ledges are all rounded, being definedby needles set in three-quarter round recesses defined in zig-zagrelationship to one another the full length of the cascade, thusreducing wear on the ledges while also enabling replacement of these fewneedles from time to time as the exposed portions thereof defining theabutments commence to show wear, so as to restore the cascade to newcondition at a very low cost utilizing the same needles as are used inthe needle bearings as replacements and insure continued good operation.Removable cover plates on the front and back of the cascade expose theends of these needles so that removal and replacement of the wornneedles presents no problem.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 5, 1974 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,478

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NEEDLE BEARING ASSEMBLING MACHINE This inventionrelates to needle bearing assembling machines and is more particularlyconcerned with an improved so-called cascade, wherein the needles movedownwardly by gravity in a zig-zag path as they strike one after anotherof a series of needles that are set in recesses provided on oppositesides of the passageway, the gravity flow of the needles being aided byvibration of the cascade as by means of a solenoid attached to thecascade.

A salient feature of this cascade is the use of hardened needles todefine the zig-zag abutments in the first instance and replace thesewith others of the same needles in the cascade to reduce wear to aminimum, these needles being so mounted that they may be easily removedfrom the recesses in which they are inserted, enabling replacement ofthese needles from time to time as they give evidence of wear, wherebyto keep the cascade operating at peak efficiency at all times and insuremaximum efficiency in the assembling of needle bearings.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a general view, partly in from elevation and partly insection, of a needle bearing assembling machine incorporating the novelcascade of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a view at right angles of the upper portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional detail on the line 3--3 of FIG, 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of the upper end portion of thecascade serving to give a better idea of its construction, especiallywhen viewed in connection with FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding partsthroughout the views.

The needles or rollers to be assembled in bearings are designated by thenumeral 6, whereas, the needles or rollers used to define zig-zagabutments in the cascade indicated generally by the reference numeral 7,are designated by the reference numeral 8, so as to avoid confusion,although some of the same needles 6 are used when set in thethree-quarter round recesses 9 defined on opposite sides of the verticalpassageway 10 in the cascade to define the zig-zag arrangement ofabutments shown in FIG. 3, 4, and 5. When cascades or staircases, asthey are sometimes called, were made the old way, namely, by machiningregularly spaced ledges in opposite sides of the vertical passageway toprovide for zig-zag downward travel of the needles to the assemblingchamber 11 (FIG. 1), the cascade soon wore out at the ledges and failedto function as intended and therefore the cascade had to be replaced atfairly frequent intervals where needle bearing assembling was carried onsteadily from day to day, whereas with my improved construction, usingsome of the same heat-treated hardened needles 6 for the abutments at 8on opposite sides of the vertical passageway 10, set in the recesses 9provided in zig-zag relationship the full length of the passageway 10 incascade, wear on the abutments defined by the needles 8 is reduced to aminimum. When there is, nevertheless, sufficient evidence of wear on theabutments to require it, it is an easy matter to remove the worn needles8 by endwise movement in the recesses 9 and replace them with new ones,thus restoring the cascade to as good as new condition at very littlecost in relation to what a new cascade would cost. Plates 12 and 13closing the front and back of the passageway 10 are secured in place byscrews 14 and bolts 15, respectively. When these plates are removed, theends of needles 8 are exposed so it is an easy matter to remove theseworn needles by endwise movement and insert new ones.

In operation, needles 6 for the bearings 16 are fed from a vibratoryfeeder bowl, rotary hopper or similar needle feeding device (not shown)endwise through a tube (not shown) into the cascade 7 through ahorizontal passage 17 onto a horizontal ledge 18 adjoining the upper endof passageway 10, from which they are pushed by a solenoid reciprocatedplunger or similar reciprocation inducing device 19 to start theirdownward travel to the bearing assembling chamber 11 through thevertical passageway 10 in the cascade 7. The reciprocation inducingdevice for reciprocation of the plunger 19 is indicated at 20. Thezig-zag move ment of the rollers 6 downwardly through the passageway 10is indicated by the zig-zag arrow 21 in FIG. 5 and as was statedpreviously, the cascade 7 is subjected to vibration by suitable means(not shown) throughout the operation of the assembling machine. Ahorizontal slot 22 in the cascade 7 registering with the lower end ofthe passageway 10 opens into the bearing assembling chamber 11. Acentering pin or mandrel 23 is disposed horizontally in the chamber 11in centered relationship to and is reciprocable, as indicated by thearrow 24, with the sleeve 25 closing the rear end of the chamber 11. Thepin or mandrel 23 is also oscillated, as indicated by arrow 26 tofacilitate the assembling of a complete set of needles 6 around themandrel 23 before the mandrel and sleeve 25 are moved forwardly with thehousing 27 relative to the cascade 7 to transfer the circular group ofneedles into the bearing 16 where they come in contact immediately withsome lubricant spread around the inside of the bearing to keep them intheir proper relationship until the next assembling operation isperformed on that bearing. Sometimes, by twisting the group of needlesfrom one end, the needles can be locked against radial displacementafter they are transferred to the bearing, but usually the adhesion onthe lubricant is enough to isure their maintaining their position. Astop-screw 28 limits the forward travel of the housing 27. A resilientO-ring 29 seated in an annular groove 30 in the forward end portion ofthe mandrel 23 serves as a stop against which the forward end of theneedles 6 engage to limit endwise displacement prior to the transfer ofthe set into the bore of the bearing 16, the needles 6 being thereafterspread radially by contact with the O-ring 29 in the return movement ofthe mandrel 23 to insure a better hold on the lubricant in the bearingand also insure disposition of the needles 6 all at the same radius inthe bearing.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. While a preferred embodimentof the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only forthe purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that variousmodifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in. this art.

I claim:

1. in a needle bearing cascade comprising an upright generallyrectangular frame enclosing a substantially vertical passageway downwhich cylindrical bearing needles to be assembled in a bearing arefed'by gravity while disposed substantially horizontallyfineans defininga zig-zag array of vertically spaced parallel horizontal roundedprojections on opposite sides of said passageway, each of said roundedprojections being arcuate in form vertically, of approximately thesameradius as the bearing needles and projecting an amount equal to afraction of the diameter of the bearing needles.

2. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each ofsaid rounded projections is defined by a bearing needle adapted to bereplaced by any of the needles which the cascade is designed to feed,the same having substantially the same hardness as the bearing needlesused in the bearings.

3. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each ofsiad rounded projections is defined by a bearing needle havingsubstantially the same hardness as the bearing needles used in thebearings, each bearing needle used to define a rounded projection beingentered endwise in and substantially filling an approximatelythree-quarter round recess provided therefore in the frame opening intothe side of the vertical passageway.

4. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearingneedles used to define the rounded projections are removable endwisefrom said threequarter round recesses, and the cascade includes meansnormally holding said bearing needles in place.

5. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearingneedles used to'define the rounded projections are removable endwisefrom said threequarter recesses, and the cascade includes an elongatedplate covering one end of the last named bearing needles and detachablysecured to the frame.

6. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearingneedles used to define the rounded projections are removable endwisefrom said threequarter round recesses, and the cascade includeselongated plates covering the ends of the last named hearing needles anddetachably secured to the frame.

7. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of therounded projections is defined by a cylindrical pin removably andreplaceably set endwise in a recess provided therefore in the frameopening into the side of the vertical passageway.

8. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of therounded projections is defined by a cylindrical pin removably andreplaceably set endwise v in a recess provided therefore in the frameopening into the side of the vertical passageway, all of said pins beingsuitably hardened to reduce wear and accordingly avoid necessity for toofrequent replacement.

9. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 7 including meansdefining stops at the ends of the recesses to retain the pins againstendwise displacement.

10. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 7 including platesclosing the ends of the recesses to retain the pins against endwisedisplacement.

1. In a needle bearing cascade comprising an upright generallyrectangular frame enclosing a substantially vertical passageway downwhich cylindrical bearing needles to be assembled in a bearing are fedby gravity while disposed substantially horizontally, means defining azig-zag array of vertically spaced parallel horizontal roundedprojections on opposite sides of said passageway, each of said roundedprojections being arcuate in form vertically, of approximately the sameradius as the bearing needles and projecting an amount equal to afraction of the diameter of the bearing needles.
 2. A needle bearingcascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said roundedprojections is defined by a bearing needle adapted to be replaced by anyof the needles which the cascade is designed to feed, the same havingsubstantially the same hardness as the bearing needles used in thebearings.
 3. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in whicheach of siad rounded projections is defined by a bearing needle havingsubstantially the same hardness as the bearing needles used in thebearings, each bearing needle used to define a rounded projection beingentered endwise in and substantially filling an approximatelythree-quarter round recess provided therefore in the frame opening intothe side of the vertical passageway.
 4. A needle bearing cascade as setforth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to define the roundedprojections are removable endwise from said three-quarter roundrecesses, and the cascade includes means normally holding said bearingneedles in place.
 5. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 inwhich the bearing needles used to define the rounded projections areremovable endwise from said three-quarter recesses, and the cascadeincludes an elongated plate covering one end of the last named bearingneedles and detachably secured to the frame.
 6. A needle bearing cascadeas set forth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to define therounded projections are removable endwise from said three-quarter roundrecesses, and the cascade includes elongated plates covering the ends ofthe last named bearing needles and detachably secured to the frame.
 7. Aneedle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of therounded projections is defined by a cylindrical pin removably andreplaceably set endwise in a recess provided therefore in the frameopening into the side of the vertical passageway.
 8. A needle bearingcascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of the rounded projectionsis defined by a cylindrical pin removably and replaceably set endwise ina recess provided therefore in the frame opening into the side of thevertical passageway, all of said pins being suitably hardened to reducewear and accordingly avoid necessity for too frequent replacement.
 9. Aneedle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 7 including means definingstops at the ends of the recesses to retain the pins against endwisedisplacement.
 10. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 7including plates closing the ends of the recesses to retain the pinsagainst endwise displacement.